1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for editing an album by arranging image data and/or text data according to a predetermined template on a user terminal and transmitting a request to print the album from the user terminal to a server on a network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image-edit software programs are becoming high performance and multifunctional with increases in the progress of the computer technologies and the functions of digital cameras in recent years. It is preferable that data used and stored by the multifunctional image-edit software program is in a special-purpose format compatible with the functions of the image-edit software program.
On the other hand, as high-speed network-communication technologies are becoming widely available, it has become possible to transmit a request to print album data to a print site of a print service, where the print site is connected to a network. Subsequently, a high-quality print product is generated. The above-described print service offers printing service including album binding or the like.
FIG. 14 shows an example of a known print system including a server 1401 configured to provide template data and manage the reception of print orders, the settlement of accounts, and so forth, a user terminal 1402 configured to edit a printed matter including an album or the like based on template data downloaded from the server 1401, and print sites A, B, and C (1403, 1404, and 1405) of print services who actually performs binding or the like according to the details of order data transmitted from the user terminal 1402. The above-described components of the print system are connected to one another via a network.
The user terminal 1402 downloads template data in a special-purpose format from the server 1401 and edits an album by arranging image data on the template data by, for example, using the functions of an album-edit application according to instructions transmitted from the user terminal 1402 operated by a user. The edited data is stored in the user terminal 1402. Upon receiving an order for the edited album, the edited data in the above-described special-purpose format is transmitted from the user terminal 1402 to the server 1401.
The server 1401 transmits the edited data to one of the above-described print sites corresponding to a print service with which printing of the edited data is charged. At that time, however, the server 1401 has to convert the edited data in the special-purpose format into data in a file format that can be accepted by the print site. Therefore, the server 1401 has to include a converter for each of print services, the converter being configured to convert data in the special-purpose format into data in a file format that can be accepted by each of the print services. Further, the server 1401 has to perform format conversion by using the converters. Thus, the server 1401 is under heavy loads.
Further, when the edited data transmitted from the user terminal 1402 includes text data, the server 1401 has to prepare the same font as that of the text data for performing font rasterization or the like, so as to convert the special-purpose-format edited data into data in a format compatible with the print site to which the edited data is transmitted. Therefore, various kinds of fonts have to be prepared, so as to meet the requirements of user terminals including the user terminal 1402.